Telephony-based speech recognition for providing information for sorting mail and packages

• US 6,885,991 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2000
• Issued: 04/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Inventors: Coggshall, John C., Edwards, Jennifer M., Skonberg, Carl M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Azad, Abul K.
• Application Number:
  US09/732,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20020072897A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,601 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270.1, 704/270, 704/251, 704/260, 704/231, 209/44.1, 209/584, 209/699, 209/700, 209/702, 209/44.4
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 7/005 Computer assisted manual sorting, e.g. for mail

Abstract

The present invention relates to a telephony-based speech recognition system for sorting packages and letters. The invention includes a wireless telephony set in communication with a computer through a telephony system or network. Sortation information spoken by a user is sent by the wireless telephony set to a speech device or modem. A signal containing the spoken sortation information is sent by the speech device or modem through the telephony system or network to a computer. A stored set of instructions such as a speech recognition program interprets the signal to obtain the spoken sortation information. The computer generates a return signal, such as a data signal, an encoded voice signal, or both, in response to the spoken sortation information. A second modem encodes the return signal and sends the return signal through the telephony system or network to the speech device or modem. The speech device or modem decodes the return signal into a data signal for output to a local computer and a voice signal for output to the user.

Claims

1. A system for processing sortation information spoken by a user, and for generating a return signal with a computer for transmission back to the user on a telephony system in response to sortation information spoken by the user, comprising:

a wireless telephony set being operative to;

receive sortation information spoken by a user;

send the sortation information to a first modem,

the first modem being operative to;

send spoken sortation information from the wireless telephony set to a second modem through the telephony system;

the second modem being operative to;

receive spoken sortation information from the first modem;

send spoken sortation information to a computer; and

the computer being operative to;

receive the spoken sortation information from the second modem;

generate a return signal comprising an voice signal and a data signal in response to the spoken sortation information;

send the voice signal and the data signal to the second modem;

the second modem further operative to;

encode the data signal with the voice signal for transmission to the first modem through the telephony system;

the first modem further operative to;

decode the data signal and the voice signal from the second modem into the separate voice signal and data signal;

send the voice signal to the wireless telephony set; and

the wireless telephony set further operative to;

receive the voice signal from the computer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the spoken sortation information comprises a delivery address.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless telephony set comprises a transmitter being operative to send spoken sortation information to the first modem, and a receiver being operative to receive a return signal from a first modem.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the wireless telephony set further comprises a microphone being operative to receive spoken input from a user and a speaker being operative to broadcast the return signal received by the receiver.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless telephony set further comprises:

a base phone receiver being operative to;

receive spoken sortation information from the transmitter, and

send the spoken sortation information to the first modem.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the telephony system comprises a wireless telephone network.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the telephony system comprises a public switched telephone network.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer further comprises a telephony interface being operative to transfer spoken sortation information from the second modem to the remote computer.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is further operative to execute a set of instructions containing a speech recognition routine to interpret the spoken sortation information.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer comprises a remote computer.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the first modem comprises a simultaneous voice and data (SVD) modem.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the second modem comprises a simultaneous voice and data (SVD) modem.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the return signal comprises a prompt for the user to respond to the accuracy of the spoken sortation information.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the return signal comprises a sortation instruction.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the first modem is further operative to decode the return signal into an voice signal and a data signal.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the first modem is further operative to send the data signal to a local computer.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the data signal is processed by the local computer, and the local computer instructs an associated printer to format or to print a label.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the data signal is processed by the local computer, and the local computer displays the information on an associated visual display device.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the first modem sends the data signal to an associated printer to format or to print a label.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the first modem sends the data signal to an associated visual display device to display information.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the voice signal comprises audio instructions in response to the user'"'"'s spoken sortation information.